Autumn Courses and Field Trips   

The history of polar exploration is commonly understood in terms of the dramatic, romantic, and oftentimes tragic exploits of intrepid mariners such as Ernest Shackleton, Roald Amundsen, and Sir John Franklin. And while such stories abound in the literature and will be a significant part of the course, humankind’s connection to the Arctic and Antarctic touches on deeper historical themes such as nationalism, colonialism, science, geographical misconceptions, Indigenous cultures, racial theories, and the biological impact of cold. This course will trace the evolution of polar exploration in the 19th and early 20th centuries, focusing on the quests for the Northwest Passage and the North and South Poles.